Steak and Ale Pie

There are several steak pie recipes which I prepare regularly but this steak and ale pie recipe has got to rate as one of my favourites. The brown ale lends a delicious extra flavour to the beef and the overall effect is truly out of this world.

Ingredients

1lb Aberdeen Angus stewing steak
1 large onion
1 large carrot
1 pint brown ale (I use Newcastle Brown Ale)
1 pint fresh beef stock (please - no stock cubes!)
1/2lb puff pastry
Freshly ground black pepper
A little milk for glazing

Method

Put the beef in to a large pot and brown it over a medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. This will take a few minutes to do it properly and it is important to ensure that all the pieces of beef are properly sealed in this way.

Add the beef stock and brown ale to the pot and season well with freshly ground black pepper. Turn the heat up until the liquid begins to boil. Reduce the heat to very low, so that the liquid is just simmering, and continue to simmer for two and a half hours, stirring occasionally. Note that in the first few minutes of simmering, the brown ale is likely to cause the liquid to froth up but stirring well will negate this effect.

Ten minutes before the two and a half hours are up, put the oven on to pre-heat to 400F/200C/Gas Mark 6. Peel and quarter the onion and scrape and slice the carrot in to discs and add them to the beef mixture for the last few minutes of simmering.

Remove the beef and vegetables from the stock with a slotted spoon and place in to a rectangular pie dish, approximately 10" by 5". Pour in enough of the remaining stock to ensure the solids are covered.

Roll out the pastry on a floured board. Grease the edges of the pie dish with a little butter and sit the pastry on top, pressing down firmly around the edges. Cut a "+" shaped cross in the centre of the pastry with a sharp knife to allow steam to escape during baking and glaze lightly with some milk. Place the pie on a baking sheet and in to the oven for 30 minutes.

I like to leave the pie to rest for about ten minutes after taking it from the oven, in a similar sense as to how I would rest a beef steak for a few minutes prior to serving. After this time, cut the pie and serve with chosen accompaniments.